WHEN A WORLD champion trail runner says a race in Ireland was the toughest she’s ever competed in, it’s probably worth taking note.

The Mourne Skyline Mountain Trail Race is only in its second year but has already gained a fearsome reputation as being a test of both body and mind and over 35 kilometres of rugged terrain, it certainly doesn’t sound like much of a picnic.

This year’s event takes place a month from today and the bad news for anyone wanting to enter is that it’s long sold out, with the 200-competitior quota being filled in a matter of hours.

Less than half of those are Irish, with the majority of runners coming from 14 other countries and race PRO Joanne McNeill said she’s been blown away by the interest shown.

“This is only the second year of it and it’s long sold out so unfortunately, we can’t take on any more but for anyone who wants a workout we are running a 2-mile uphill run in the dark the night before called the Granite Trail Run (Friday October 23rd) at 7.30pm and that’s open to anyone.

“There’s no flat on that and it just goes straight up to an elevation of 300 metres. It’ll be a lot of fun up through forest trails and paths with only a head torch to guide you.”

The Skyline itself looks like an absolute brute and comprises mainly of forest paths, fire roads and single-track grass and granite trails, with just one mile on the road.

The course – which is open to anyone , measures 35 kilometres with approximately 11,056ft of ascent and 11,024ft of descent.

The highest point will be 2,801ft and the lowest point is at sea level and though not a trail runner herself, McNeill remarked it’s the constant changes in elevation that make it so difficult.

“It’s either incline or decline so one really needs to be on the ball all the time, there’s no time where you can actually relax.

“As well as that, the Mourne mountains can see very changeable weather conditions and it’s not unusual to get four seasons in an hour,” she said.

Last year’s winner of the female category, Stevie Kremer from the US, won’t be back to defend her title but she said the race represented “a new level of difficulty” for her.

“The Mourne race was one of the toughest races I have ever competed in – from the steep, hands-on-knees, climbs to the technical, slippery descents, not one part of this race let up.

“With the added elements of rain and wind, this race presented a new level of difficulty in a fantastic setting of majestic mountains sweeping down to the sea.”

The race has once again received generous sponsorship from title sponsors Garmin and they’ve some ambitious plans for it again this year, one of which is to produce a film on it.

“The race has received proper sponsorship and that’s allowed us to make it into a massive event,” said McNeill.

“We’ll be doing lots of online video content like course previews and interviews and we really feel this can grow into something.

“Northern Ireland Running is a really well-respected organisation with a very considerable following; their mantra is all about getting more people running and though we’re only allowing a quota of 200, we feel we could have that 10 times over if we wanted.”

The Garmin Mourne Skyline MTR falls under the umbrella of the Skyrunning UK Series (governed by the International Skyrunning Federation) and last year, the race was featured in the UK’s best-selling Trail Running magazine.

The route takes the athletes some real monster climbs such as the highest point in Ulster, Slieve Donard (850 metres) as well as over half a dozen other similarly elevated peaks.

For anyone looking for more information, check out the event website here and follow them on twitter @MourneSkyMTR.

Originally published at 0700

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